Part Twenty-Five
Arya noticed the blood in Nymeria's fur when she eventually caught up with them and smiled a little to herself. If that was how Walder Frey wanted to play this game then that is how she's going to play it as well. Right now her first instinct was to wipe the house of every living male there and damn the entire thing to near extinction. Then she was reminded that a house was more than it's the leader and there was a chance that there were men that didn't want to take part in the Red Wedding or drag her back to a marriage by her hair. She wondered if Walder was going to try and tell her that it was her fault that his bastard was dead. She wondered if he cared at all.
By the time they got back to the camp, the sun was beginning to set but it wasn't anywhere near dark yet. Everyone was gathered around a fire and they all greeted Arya and Gendry back to the camp when they arrived.
"You're alive so how did it go?" Beric asked.
"He's agreed to meet," Gendry said as he sat down near the fire. Thoros offered him some of the deer they were serving to everyone and Gendry nodded his thanks.
"He also sent one of his bastard sons to kill Gendry and drag me back for my marriage," Arya said as she settled down next to Gendry. She was also passed some food which she thanked them for.
"How did you kill the poor fool?" Tormund asked. "Was it a great battle?"
"We let nature take its course," Gendry said as he nodded to Nymeria. Tormund let out a loud laugh and Arya could swear even Sandor smirked.
"First your sister feeds a man to hounds and you let one get eaten by wolves," Sandor grumbled. "And here I thought the wolf bitch and the little bird couldn't be more different."
"That certain sets a tone for the meeting tomorrow," Podrick said as he frowned. "What do you want to do?"
"I met with his heir today and the man seems like a coward," Arya said. "There is a chance we could use that cowardice against him."
"What if he was involved with the wedding?" Beric asked.
"Yes, what are you planning on doing about that?" Meera asked. "There's no way anyone is going to admit that they were there or had a part in it. There isn't anyone we could ask that would be honest about it."
"The person responsible for the Red Wedding is Walder Frey and the ones who actually did the deeds. If I can convince the rest of the family that I will spare them if they give up the ones who did the killing them maybe I can convince the house that I will let them live," Arya explained. She pressed her lips together and tried to convince herself that this was the way things had to be. To take out the entire house would be something that the Lannister's or the Bolton's would do. She refused to be as bad as her enemies and if that meant showing a little mercy then she was going to show a little mercy.
"Does he know who you are, lad?" Beric asked Gendry who shook his head.
"I'm fairly sure he thinks I'm just a knight or a sworn shield or something like that," Gendry said. "I stood there and let Arya do all of the talking so I don't know why he would assume that I was anything other than that. We also gave no inclination that we were traveling with anyone else so they won't be expecting anyone other than Arya, myself, and Nymeria."
"He's arrogant," Arya said. "He won't come with a lot of men. Gendry and I will be out in the open while the rest of you will be hiding. Anguy and Meera, I want both of you in the trees and hidden. That way they won't see you coming. As they approach the wolves will draw one or two members of the detail out at a time until we diminish their numbers. Once the wolves drag them off one of us will be waiting in the woods to kill the soldier in question. They will think a wolf pack is attacking them and won't be able to pin anything on me. I'll make sure to address Stevron, the heir, so you know who not to kill. You are also not to kill Walder Frey. If he tries to run, Anguy, I want you to put an arrow in his knee."
"Or just put an arrow in it anyway," Gendry said. "The most important thing is making sure you stay out of sight. If they know we're picking them off they might turn tail and run. If that's the case we must prevent that from happening and then something like an all-out battle might happen. We can't let them get back to the Twins on their own terms. They'll call the banners and slaughter all of us."
"So this is how you two killed all of those Lannister soldiers," Thoros said and he looked a little fond. "Very good. We'll make sure that no one gets back to that castle unless it is on our terms." Sandor grumbled his agreement as everyone nodded and they began to discuss who would be waiting where. Arya reached over and squeezed Gendry's hand tightly. She didn't want to think about what would happen to him if they lost this battle. Walder Frey would probably kill him slowly just so she had to watch and then force her to marry his son. She would not allow that to happen.
"By this time tomorrow House Frey will know that the North remembers," Arya said after everyone had sorted out where they were going to be.
Arya tried to sleep but it was hard. The wolves were keeping watch and would howl for Nymeria if someone was seen approaching the camp. She didn't think Walder would try to attack them again but there was no telling what that crazy old man would do. Gendry was asleep behind her and it annoyed her a little that he could sleep when they were to attack someone when they were vastly outnumbered. Arya thought about Robb and her mother. She thought about Talisa, the woman she never got to meet, the woman that so stole her brother's heart. Arya wanted them here with her. She didn't want to be in the Riverlands to try and get revenge. She wished her entire life wasn't so defined by it.
It took some time but Arya finally managed to get some sleep. Everyone was up at first light just in case Walder decided to be early and they all got into their positions. Tormund, Beric, Thoros, and several other Brotherhood members would be watching the path leading up to the campsite and leading men away with the help of Ghost and the wolf pack. Meera and Anguy were in the trees with bows and arrows ready to shoot from high above. Podrick and Sandor remained near the camp as back-up until the others could join once the meeting started.
"Go and come back when he's near," Arya told Nymeria who took off into the woods. She wished she could explain how it was like Nymeria could understand her now but considering that she was one of the only two remaining Stark direwolves Arya could only hope that it meant their bond was even stronger. Arya stood close to Gendry and let him put an arm around her to hold her close. "You're not allowed to die."
"Neither are you," he replied without hesitation. They sharpened their weapons and ate a little of the leftover deer from the night before as they waited. Arya felt her stomach twist into knots when Nymeria ran into the clearing. If she listened carefully she could hear some yelling and men swearing loudly. That meant that the diminishing had started. Arya squeezed Gendry's hand and released it as men walked into the clearing. The oldest one, she could only assume this was Walder Frey, was on horseback and he looked angry. Stevron was also riding a horse and there were two other men on horseback. One was a little younger than Stevron and he had a pronounced limp when he got off of his horse. She could only assume this was Lothar Frey. The other was a man wearing similar clothes to Ryger and Arya assumed this Walder Rivers.
As Arya looked at the men she realized that most of them looked like Walder Frey on some level and she smiled a little to herself. That meant the man was arrogant enough to bring his family members as fighters. She also noticed a young man who appeared to be a few years younger than her. He was staring at her with wide eyes and Arya wondered if that was supposed to be her betrothed. Altogether there were almost just under twenty men.
"Arya of House Stark," Walder said as he was helped off of his horse by his sons. They sneered when there didn't appear to be anywhere for him to sit. "We were all wondering what happened to you."
"Were you now," Arya said. "Well I'm here and I'm alive so let's get down to business."
"Yes, let's," Walder said with a smile. "Your mother and brother signed a contract for your hand in marriage. So if you come back with us peacefully we'll spare the life of the man standing next to you."
"I'm not marrying any of your sons, Lord Frey," Arya said with a smile. "For you see I'm already a married woman and you stand in the presence of my husband. Since there was no way for me to know of this marriage contract and since I'm a wedded, bedded, and barren woman I'm afraid there won't be any joining of houses. I am not here to talk about that. I am here to demand the release of my uncle, aunt, and nephew immediately."
"Married?" Walder said with such obvious disdain. "And who the hell are you?" He asked Gendry who smirked.
"None of your concern," Gendry replied flatly. "Now I believe the Lady mentioned something about doing business. Now, are we here to do business or not?"
"I'm not releasing anyone," Walder said and he spat on the ground at their feet. Arya could see that the men around Walder were eager to attack them and were only waiting for the moment to strike. She hoped that the wolves and the rest of their party were nearby and ready because this was not going to end well for them.
"I'm not just here for the release of my family," Arya said. "You are also going to allow merchants to travel North for trade."
"And why the fuck would I do that?" Walder snapped. "Your bastard brother going to come down and wage war on me? Like I give a shit about what a bunch of shits from the North do."
"Not just my brother," Arya said with a smile. "We've just made an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen. She is here in Westeros to take the iron throne for herself. All the North would need to do is ask her to come down with one of her three grown dragons and no one would have to pay a river toll ever again because the Twins would be no more. I am giving you a chance for your house to survival, Walder Frey, and if you don't take it you will perish."
"Nothing about you or dragons frighten me, girl," Walder said with an evil smile. "Besides, no dragon is going to attack my castle when I tell the North I have you as a prisoner. Boys, kill the husband and take the girl. It's time for the Stark's to fulfill their contract."
"Father," Stevron said. "Perhaps we should consider this offer."
"Silence," Walder snapped. "Take them." Arya pulled out her sword as Gendry removed his war hammer from his back. The Frey men began to advance on them but froze when an arrow hit one of them in the neck. "They aren't alone!" Walder yelled and Arya smirked.
"Far from it," she said. The Freys attacked just as all of her allies emerged from the trees and the battle was on. Arya found herself fighting Lothar and he was grinning at her as they fought. She had Needle and Thread with her this time and was becoming quite adapt to fighting with two swords compared to one. The two blades helped against opponents with bigger swords that were stronger than her. Lothar wasn't the most skilled man with a blade but he wasn't incompetent either.
"I want you to know," he said as they fought. "That I was there that night your bastard brother and bitch mother died. I watched it happen. I stabbed that cunt your brother married."
"And I want to thank you," Arya said as she ducked a swing from the blade. "I wanted to know the names of the people who killed my family in the Red Wedding so they could pay for what they did and you've saved me the effort." Arya ducked low, using her height to her advantage, and kicked up at Lothar's knee. He wasn't wearing full armor and she felt his kneecap shift. He cried out and stumbled down to the ground which gave Arya the chance to slit his throat with Needle. He made a gurgling noise before he fell to the ground.
Sandor was easily fighting two Frey men at the same time and he used his considerable skill and height against them. They said something about the Hound being a Lannister man and that they were allies but Sandor snarled and swiftly cut through the men. Beric, Tormund, and Thoros were behind the Frey men in an attempt to keep them from running around. Arya couldn't see them but she hoped they were fighting well. Arya heard Podrick cry out in pain as someone shot him in the shoulder with a crossbow. He went down hard and as the Frey man approached to finish the job Meera dropped from the trees. She landed easily on her feet and fired an arrow into the man's neck. Another Frey man attacked her and Meera threw down her bow and pulled out her spear. She kept distance between her and her attacker as she jabbed the man over and over again with the spear.
Anguy remained high and Arya watched as he fired arrows into each of the remaining horses so no one could escape. Then she heard Walder cry out in pain and she saw an arrow in his knee which made her smile. Gendry was fighting the bastard known as Black Walder. He was a vicious man and more than once Arya tried to get over to help her husband only for another Frey man to attack her. Gendry took a harsh blow to the temple that made him stumble and Arya did her best to focus when she saw the blood. It would do him no good if someone managed to take her hostage because Gendry would throw down his weapon in a second if it meant her safety. He was holding his own the best he could and managed to smash his hammer into Black Walder's arm. He cried out in pain as he dropped his sword and bared his teeth like an animal. Gendry didn't hesitate as he smashed Black Walder's skull with his hammer.
The wolves circled and dragged off the dead or the wounded as the battle continued. Arya cut another man down and looked around as Sandor took Stevron hostage and she could see Beric emerging from the chaos with a knife to who she assumed was Waldron Frey. Walder was on the ground with an arrow in his knee and Arya smirked at him as the battle came to an end. She walked over and stood over him.
"It would be in your best interest to sit quietly while we discuss things," she said. Walder opened his mouth to disagree with her but a sharp kick to the temple and he was out cold. Podrick was wincing from his wounded shoulder but Meera was talking quietly to him. Anguy dropped from the trees as everyone else came back. There were superficial wounds on almost everyone but Podrick appeared to be the most wounded. Arya turned to Stevron and smiled.
"Ser, here are the terms we will be discussing," she said. "The first thing you are going to do is release my uncle, aunt, and nephew. Does the Blackfish still hold Riverrun?"
"No, my lady, we used your uncle with the help of the Lannister's to take it back," he said and she could hear his voice shaking with fear.
"Then my uncle will be coming North with me," she said. "The second is that you will open trade routes with the North so the Reach may once again trade with us."
"My lady, my father is still-"
"The third thing," Arya said interrupting him. "and the reason I'm speaking with you and not your father is I am here for revenge for the Red Wedding. You don't seem like the kind of man that would take part in a thing like that, is that true?"
"No, my lady, I did not harm anyone that night. I even told my father that it was a terrible idea to betray the Starks," Stevron said quickly. She could see the fear in his eyes.
"Your father is going to die for the crimes he committed against my family along with anyone else who pulled the trigger on my family," Arya said as Stevron opened his mouth to say something she held up a hand. "I know that you cannot say "no" to your lord so I will spare the soldiers merely following orders. I want the men that killed my family. If you agree to these terms you can consider yourself the new Lord of the Crossing. I won't be sending the North or the Dragon Queen down to wipe out your house. If you do not agree to these terms then you and your little brother here will both die and I will personally stand by and watch as your house is burned to the ground." Arya pointed her sword at Stevron and glared at him. "These are my terms and they are not up for negotiation."
"You wish for me to condemn any of my brothers that fired on yours to death?" Stevron asked.
"You either name them or you die right now and I'll let the wolves eat your remains," Arya said. Stevron visibly swallowed as he looked at her and eventually nodded slowly. "Very well. We will continue to hold your father and brother hostage while you travel back to the Twins and get my family. We will be close behind and if we see you calling the banners or your men we will kill your brother and go North. I'll consider our deal forfeit and I'll begin to look forward to your castle being consumed by dragonfire. Have you been to Harrenhal, Ser? Do you know what dragonfire does to a castle?"
"I'd give you my word, my lady, but I fear the word of a Frey means very little to you," Stevron said.
"You would be correct," she said and looked over his shoulder at Sandor. "Bind his hands for now. We must tend to our own first." For the first time, Arya turned and took in her friends. There was blood running down Gendry's cheek from a wound on his temple but his eyes were clear and he was standing steady. Tormund and Thoros were with Meera as they knelt down next to Podrick as they talked about how to deal with the wound.
"We don't want to break those teeth of your lad," Thoros said as she pulled off his sword belt and put it between Podrick's teeth. Arya and Gendry both walked over and they helped hold Podrick down as they ripped the bolt from his shoulder. He screamed and Arya winced with sympathy; Podrick was a good man and didn't deserve this pain. It made her hate the Frey's even more.
"We need to get that wound closed," Tormund said as he poured some ale on the wound to clean it. Thoros nodded and walked over to Beric.
"We need to borrow your fire, Lord Beric. I'll handle the boy." Thoros took Waldron from Beric and Arya watched as he used his fire sword to burn the wound closed. Podrick screamed again and finally passed out from the pain. Arya brushes the dirt from her knees as she stands up and glares at Walder Frey who is beginning to wake up. She wants to kill him right now and it must be obvious because Waldron speaks for the first time.
"I know you're going to kill him," he said. "And I know I don't have any right to request this but I don't want to watch. Please don't make me watch."
"You're Waldron, aren't you," Arya said and he nodded. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to the man she was betrothed to. Walder was awake now and groaning about the fact that there was an arrow in his knee and not caring in the least that his family was dead around him. Arya rolled her eyes and walked up to Gendry to check his temple. She prodded the wound with a finger and he winced.
"It's just a cut. You know how head wounds are," he said.
"I also know how many of them you've taken recently," Arya replied. Gendry smiled and leaned forward so their foreheads were pressed together. She wanted to thank him for not dying, for being okay, but Walder decided that he was going to ruin it.
"Get the fuck away from my son's bride you bastard," Walder said. When they turned to look at him and he smirked. "Do you really think I wouldn't know a Baratheon when I see one? You're one of Robert's spawns and you're touching my son's high born bride."
"Gag him," Arya said without breaking eye contact. "We make for the Twins."
Stevron seemed properly frightened of them and even more so when he realized that there was an entire wolf pack surrounding them at all times. Tormund had offered to carry an unconscious Podrick on his back until the squire woke up again. Walder slowed down their walk considerably but Arya wasn't about to give him a horse to ride. He would walk and he would hate every second of it. Waldron kept looking at her with big eyes like he was trying to ask her something but Arya didn't know what it was. They had lost several of the Brotherhood members that came to help them but the remaining members said that they were going to come North to fight. It seemed that the Brotherhood Without Banners was taking on a banner again.
Arya wasn't sure if this plan with Stevron was going to work but she couldn't think of any other way to handle it. They waited on the tree line as they watched him walk into the Twins. They would have to ride hard if they were going to make to the Neck where they could lose the banners if he decided to call them. Stevron didn't seem like an idiot though and she hoped that she hadn't misjudged him.
It took several hours but he eventually rejoined them with four men, her Uncle Edmure and Roslin who was holding an infant. The wolves surrounded the men as Stevron told her that Black Walder had killed her mother, Lothar killed Talisa, and it was a combination of crossbow bolts and Roose Bolton that killed Robb. Roose was already dead and the four men were the ones who fired the crossbow bolts. They begged their brother to tell them what was going on but hidden in the shadow of the woods Arya took Needle and slit their throats. She was a woman of the North, Ned Stark's child, and she wanted to pass the sentence when she could. The wolves dragged the bodies away as Walder screamed against his gag.
"Arya?" Edmure said as he held onto Roslin's hand.
"Hello Uncle Edmure," she said. "I'm afraid that Riverrun is not safe for you at the moment. I'd like you and your family to join me in the North for now." Edmure was dirty and looked like he'd been through hell but as he looked around he seemed to realize that no matter what was going on he didn't really have a choice but to obey the woman controlling a wolf pack. He nodded and he and his family walked over to Beric whom he seemed to recognize at least a little.
"With my father's death, the deal with the merchants, and the release of your family will you allow my house to live under my rule, Lady Arya?" Stevron asked.
"If the North receives its trade I won't ask the Dragon Queen to burn you all live," Arya said as she looked at Walder. She was half tempted to drag him to Winterfell to execute him there so her family could see it but he was too old and probably wouldn't make the trip. "Keep your bridge tolls low and pull your forces out of Riverrun. When my Uncle takes it back I expect you to bow to him. Kneel and swear your fealty now." Walder was still screaming behind his gag but Stevron walked up to Edmure and knelt before him.
"I pledge my allegiance to House Tully and eagerly await your return to the Riverlands," Stevron said. Edmure blinked and glanced at Roslin who looked a little pale.
"I accept your fealty," Edmure replied.
"Uncle," Arya said. "I think it would be best if you stepped away with the Lady Roslin for a moment. I have one more thing to do on behalf of our family." Edmure nodded as he and Beric guided Roslin away from the area. Thoros released Waldron who joined his brother but kept his head down. Arya clenched Needle tightly in her hand as she stood before Walder Frey.
"In the name of House Stark, I condemn you, Lord Walder Frey, to die. In the name of King Robb Stark, Queen Talisa Stark, their unborn child, and Lady Catelyn Stark, I pass this sentence." Arya didn't give Walder a chance to say anything, she didn't remove the gag, and he collapsed to the ground with a slit throat. He died quietly and even the wolves didn't seem interested in him. Stevron and Waldron were looking away but they glanced at her and she nodded. They hurried back to the Twins without looking behind them.
"Arya," Gendry said softly as he took the sword from her hand. She didn't realize how tightly she'd been holding it. "We need to hurry in case they call the banners." Arya nodded and they quickly began to gather their things so they could go back to the North. She got the North the food they needed, she freed her uncle and her family, and she got revenge. Arya thought she would feel better after all of them but all she felt was a cold feeling settled in her stomach. It was a feeling that followed them no matter how far away from the Twins and the Frey blood soaking into the dirt she got.